The Anti-Angst Movement

When Harry awoke the next morning he felt very sore. And annoyed. For poking at his shoulder was none other than the as-tall-as-him-if-not-a-centimeter-more-and-always-teasing-him-about-it Hermione Granger, Head Girl of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, class of 1998. Muttering under his breath Harry grabbed his pillow and swatted it in the general direction of the brown-haired girl, making a distinctly warning sound in that same general direction. Unfortunately, or rather fortunately for 'Deadly Headl' Hermione (as deemed by the seventh-year Gryffindor boys), Harry aimed in the wrong direction and thus missed.

"Harry!" the prodigal Gryffindor hissed, glaring down at her charge. She kept her voice low, knowing it was early. "The Prefects meeting is in thirty minutes, Harry! Get up!"

A growl was her only answer. Hermione muttered under her breath. "Quidditch is canceled."

Harry Potter sat straight up, glaring dull daggers at his best friend (for he was half-blind, you see!). "You're going to pay for that."

Hermione smiled tightly. "So are you."

They glowered at each other for a full seventy-two seconds; then suddenly, the tension broke and both were laughing quietly. "Still aren't breaking tradition, are we, 'Mione?" smiled Harry, climbing out of bed and reaching for his glasses.

Hermione shook her head, offering a pretty smile in return. "Not on your life, Harry Potter. This is the best part of being a prefect - getting to see you attempt murder with a pillow and occasionally that stuffed toy you keep in yo -"

"Hermione!"

They both laughed. Hermione left to allow him privacy, and Harry grabbed some robes and ran for the bathroom.

What Harry was greeted with when he walked into the Prefects' Lounge was something that could aptly be described as bedlam.

Over the wildly chattering prefects, Heads of House, and the occasional ghost, Harry was able to find the seventh-year prefects (while stepping on tip-toes of course). He made his way over to them, smiling at the familiar faces as they all turned to greet him, most smiling, some not.

"Glad to see you finally made it," smirked Hermione.

"Oh, shut it, you," he shot back, grinning.

"Harry!" exclaimed a rather tall Justin Finch-Fletchley, who bounced over to Harry's side and seized his hand to shake it. "How are you? Haven't seen you since last year, didn't get a chance to see you at the train, arrived later than usual, you see - you're looking fine this year, Harry, have you been working out?"

Harry couldn't help but blush under the attention. Beside him, Hermione held back laughter, and over Justin's shoulder, he could see Draco watching them will cool regard. After shooting a glare at Hermione, Harry smiled back at Justin. "Not any more than usual, I'm afraid. What about you, Justin? You seem to have added quite a few inches over the summer."

Justin beamed, his dark curls falling around his ears. "Glad you noticed! I was rather pleased myself, didn't want to spend all my time being the same height as Susan, you know." He paused, glancing between Hermione and Harry and noticing their similar heights, and belatedly realized that this was not the right thing to say, as Harry had startled bristling the moment Hermione had laughed.

Fortunately Dumbledore chose that moment to call for their attention. A general shuffling for the oval table ensued, resulting in twenty-nine seats being filled. On one side, sat Dumbledore and the four heads of Houses around him: McGonagall, Snape, Sprout, and Flitwick. On the other side, sat the Head Boy and Girl, with the seventh-year prefects around them. Between the seventh-years and the heads sat the rest of the prefects.

Draco side-by-side with Hermione. On his right, to his delight, was Harry; to his chagrin, however, Justin was on the other side of Harry. Terry Boot sat beside Justin. After Hermione were Susan Bones, Padma Patil, and Pansy Parkinson.

It would prove to be a very... interesting meeting.

Dumbledore stood and beamed at them all, blue eyes twinkling behind half-moon glasses. "Welcome all, to another year at Hogwarts, new and old. You have been chosen from those in your year, House, and gender for your exceptional grades and respectful behavior. All of you should have a list of the rules, as well as guidelines to point awards, point deductions, and punishments. Has anyone lost theirs?" Nobody raised their hand. Dumbledore went on.

"This year, our Head Boy is Draco Malfoy, and our Head Girl Hermione Granger." He paused as everyone looked to where the two sat, many smiling at the picture the seventh-years made. When the Headmaster had everyone's attention again, he continued.

"As you all know, a new class will be starting this year. Headed by Madam Pomfrey, Magical Healing will be given to students who wish to learn to be a MediWizard, or to know basic healing charms and potions for upcoming battles. Already I know of three prefects in this class, as well as several others. I am pleased with the interest shown in the subject.

"This year we will be focusing more on friendly relations between Houses." A few students snorted. "Yes, I know this will be a delicate issue, Alex, but with Lord Voldemort," several students flinched at the name, "at large, we want to keep the relationships between Houses open and friendly. The ties between the students will be most valuable during an attack." There was a moment as students reflected upon this. Dumbledore smiled at his students. "Now, each of your heads of Houses would like to tell you what will be expected this year." He sat as McGonagall rose.

Draco immediately tuned McGonagall out, while mentally absorbing what she said. He let his mind wander, and of course his thoughts turned to the dark-haired boy next to him.

Harry, it seemed, was paying close attention to what the Deputy Headmistress was saying. Well, she was the Head of Gryffindor after all... Draco allowed himself to glance aside at Harry. Instead, over the head of dark waves, he met the light eyes of his Hufflepuff enemy. Immediately Draco's eyes narrowed into a dark glare with a clear warning - Stay away from him.

Finch-Fletchley responded in kind. I can do what I want. Harry likes me.

Draco. You just want to fuck him.

Justin. And you don't?

Draco. That's not the matter at hand. Stay away from him. He's mine.

Justin. Is not. He's mine.

Draco. Mine.

Justin. Mine!

Draco. MINE.

Justin. MI--

Harry. Oh, my, is Draco staring at me?

Draco & Justin. Shit.

All three boys turned back with a start as Snape sat down and Dumbledore stood again. A stack of time-tables appeared in front of each student. "You will give these out to the other students at breakfast today. Your own time-tables are on top. Good luck with your classes! The next meeting will be this Sunday evening. See you then."

All the students knew a dismissal when they saw it. Draco quickly grabbed his time-tables and stood, glaring at Justin as the Hufflepuff did the same. Draco laid a hand on Harry's shoulder a second before Justin claimed the other one.

"Harry -" they both started.

Harry himself started - by jumping slightly with a tiny 'eep'. Draco nearly melted; apparently, Justin had the same reaction. Harry looked up at the two with an endearingly cute look - How come everything Harry does is cute? Draco asked himself - while the Slytherin and Hufflepuff at hand each forgot what he wanted to say.

"Yes?" Harry prompted.

Draco jumped in before Justin could recover from the Glazed Eyes State. "Could I speak with you outside, Potter?"

While Justin started to sputter silently at Draco, Harry smiled and stood as well. "Sure," he agreed, the green eyes bright. He turned to face Justin, who immediately lost all hints of sputter. "Did you want to talk to me as well, Justin?" he asked politely.

Justin smiled victoriously and leant forward, whispering something into Harry's ear. Draco heard it clearly - as well did Hermione, who was on the other side of the room. Justin was not known for being able to whisper. "Meet me in the Astronomy Tower tonight, okay?"

Harry seemed to chew on this for a moment, then smiled and agreed. Shooting a triumphant grin at Draco, Justin sauntered out. Draco fought to roll his eyes. His hand slid off Harry's shoulder to the small of his back. "Come on, Potter. Mustn't keep the hall waiting."

Harry actually laughed. "Right, Malfoy. I'm sure it's dying to see us."

Draco smiled to himself. At least Harry's spirits were still up.

Once in the hall, Draco led Harry away from the curiously watching crowd and into an empty classroom. He shut the door behind him and turned to look at the slim Gryffindor. "You really shouldn't have done that, Harry."

"What?"

"Agreed to meet Finch-Fletchley."

Harry blinked. "Why not? It's not like he's going to assault me or anything."

Draco winced at the choice of words. "In fact, Harry, I think that's exactly what he'll try to do."

Harry's eyes widened. "Oh..."

"Yes."

"...Will you come with me, then?"

Draco had to pause at those words, disbelieving his ears. An image of Naked!Harry flashed through his mind "...Pardon?"

"I asked if you would go with me to meet him."

"Oh, of course. Yes, I suppose I will." On his shoulder, Devil!Draco whooped and cackled, while Angel!Draco cheered. "How will you explain to him my being there?"

"Well, er... hmm."

"That's what I thought. How about we got dared to spend all of our spare time together?"

"By whom?"

"Zabini."

"Ah. That works."

"Right."

"Well then, see you in... Potions?"

"See you then." A slight smile. "Have a good day, Harry."

A bit larger smile in return. "You too, Draco."

There are three things every Hogwarts student knows are sure and true in life: Professor Snape will take points from all Houses other than Slytherin, especially Gryffindor, for no apparent reason whatsoever; if you put a Gryffindor and a Slytherin in a room together alone for an infinite amount of time, one or both will come out (a) missing a body part, (b) mortally wounded, (c) dead, and/or (d) shagged/snogged; and Harry Potter doesn't flirt.

The last was the most popular topic of gossip for giggling girls and bashful boys. Every girl (and many a boy) hoped for Harry Potter to like them, but the seventh years, even Seamus Finnigan - who was well-known for shagging anything that could carry a decent conversation ("Wanna shag?" "Sure.") - had attested to the Boy Who Lived's Lack of Flirtatious Traits that were normally found in the average Hogwarts boy.

Then again, Harry Potter was far from average. And those hopeful boys and girls adored the shy, sweet way in which Harry approached people. Oh, Harry was far from shy - he WAS a Gryffindor - but Harry was inexperienced, therefore making him a tad insecure in matters of the heart.

For a while now there had been a long-running betting pool as to whom the Boy Who Lived would choose as his, er, future partner. Oliver Wood, Hermione Granger, and Draco Malfoy were the initial candidates for Harry's first year. Ginny Weasley and Justin Finch-Fletchley were added in second, Cho Chang in third, Ron Weasley and Parvati Patil in fourth, and so on and so forth. Hermione Granger had always been among the top pools, along with Draco Malfoy and Ginny Weasley. Justin Finch-Fletchley's pool took a leap up when the Prefect Meeting Incident occurred, but Ginny Weasley's was emptied and distributed at the end of sixth after the quiet break-up. (However, some loyal Harry/Ginny-ites still remained, and were plotting an event to increase their odds.) Now, Draco Malfoy's pool was starting to revive after that horrible Fourth Year Train Incident had made rounds in gossip.

Harry Potter himself had no idea that the Gambling Sect of the Hogwarts Underbelly was centered around him, nor did he have any idea that either a Gambling Sect or a Hogwarts Underbelly existed. About 65% of the school did, however, including Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. Fortunately both, like many others, had sworn never to tell Harry.

Seamus Finnigan, newly elected head of the Gambling Sect, looked up from making a deal with a fourth year (Harry/Draco, but either of the Weasleys would stake a claim on Harry, marking a bitter war between Malfoy and Weasley) as he heard someone call his name. Seeing who had called it, Seamus' face broke into a grin. He sent the fourth year off and journeyed over to his seeker.

"Harry, love! Have you finally realized your eternal love for me?" the Irishman cooed, slinging an arm around Harry Potter's shoulders. Said Seeker shot him an amused look while the Gryffindors eating around them looked up with smirks on their faces.

"Not today, Seam. I have your time-table here." The dark-haired Gryffindor smiled, waving a card in Seamus' face. He was used to the other boy's antics by now.

Seamus took the offending piece of parchment from Harry and let his eyes roam over his new schedule. "Damn. Double Potions with Slytherin first thing again on Mondays."

"I know. And last on Fridays. They want us to kill each other, it seems."

"You know it. So, who are you taking to the Halloween dance?" A blank green stare met his own. "What?! Incomprehension?! Harry Potter! I'll have you know you can break many a heart of lasses and blokes everywhere with your uninformed mind!"

Harry laughed. "I probably won't take anyone, Seamus. You know I don't have time for a girlfriend or a boyfriend."

Seamus put a hand to his heart in mock hurt. "Thou hast wounded my soul, Harry! Will the great Harry Potter not deem the humble Seamus Finnigan worthy of leading his hand? Thou hast wounded me!" he exclaimed, pulling his arm from Harry's neck, dropping to his one knee, and taking the other Gryffindor's hand to kiss it.

Above him, Harry sighed. "Get up, Seamus." Harry looked around uncertainly, blushing a bit to the amusement of the small audience they had. "Seamus..."

Seamus laughed, standing and pulling Harry's hand up with him. He pressed his lips to the golden knuckles, his warm green eyes locked with Harry's own. "Fear not, sweet love, for I would never let you go unescorted to such an important social event."

Harry smiled and pulled his hand away. "Right," he said with the air of one on a mission, "while you find me a partner, I'll inform the first years you really aren't Romeo." Several disappointed moans met their ears. Both boys slowly grinned.

Harry looked up at Seamus earnestly. "Promise me thou wilt return."

Seamus took Harry's hand again, raising it to his lips. "Love, by yonder blessed moon I swear that tips with silver all these fruit-tree tops -"

Harry shook his head, his voice turning passionate. "Oh, swear not by the moon, the inconstant moon, that monthly changes in her circled orb, lest that thy love prove likewise variable," he ended in a soft voice, looking a bit doubtful.

Seamus looked a bit perplexed, but still determined. "What shall I swear by?"

Harry smiled. "Do not swear at all; or, if thou wilt, swear by thy gracious self, which is the god of my idolatry, and I'll believe thee."

Seamus smiled back. "If my heart's dear love -"

Harry interrupted him again, fickle in the whole swearing business. "Well, do not swear. Although I joy in thee, I have no joy of this contract tonight - it is too rash, too unadvised, too sudden; too like the lightning, which doth cease to be ere one can say 'It lightens.' Sweet, good night! This bud of love, by summer's ripening breath, may prove a beauteous flower when next we meet. Good night, good night! as sweet repose and rest come to thy heart as that within my breast!" Harry finished in a passionate flare, pulling Seamus' hand to his chest with his captive hand.

Seamus' eyebrows rose, and he absently caressed Harry's chest. "O, wilt thou leave me so unsatisfied?" he whispered.

Harry tilted his head to the side. "What satisfaction canst thou have tonight?"

"The exchange of thy love's faithful vow for mine."

Harry smiled. "I gave thee mine before thou didst request it - and yet I would it were to give again."

Seamus clasped Harry's hands tightly, gently. "Wouldst thou withdraw it? For what purpose, love?"

Harry moved closer to Seamus. "But to be frank, and give it thee again. And yet I wish but for the thing I have - my bounty is as boundless as the sea, my love as deep; the more I give to thee, the more I have, for both are infinite." They heard someone calling Harry's name, as if on cue. Harry gasped, half-turning. "I hear some noise within; dear love, adieu! Anon, Ron! Sweet Finnigan, be true. Stay but a little, I will come again." He pulled his hands from Seamus' and stepped away, waving at Ron.

Seamus sighed, touching his fingers to his lips and closing his eyes. "O blessed, blessed night! I am afeard. Being in night, all this is but a dream, too flattering-sweet to be substantial."

Harry returned to him, reaching up and touching his hands. "Three words, dear Seamus, and good night indeed. If that thy bent of love be honorable, thy purpose marriage, send me word tomorrow, by one that I'll procure to come to thee, where and what time thou wilt perform the rite; and all my fortunes at thy foot I'll lay and follow thee my lord throughout the world."

To their right, they heard a scandalized voice shout, "Harry!"

Harry called back before turning to Seamus again, "I come, Ron. - But if thou mean'st not well,

I do beseech thee -"

"HARRY!" came Ron's yell.

"By and by, I come," Harry assured Ron, yet his attention was focused on Seamus. "To cease thy suit, and leave me to my grief. Tomorrow will I send," Harry continued, looking anxiously at Seamus.

Seamus' eyebrows furrowed. "So thrive my soul -"

Harry realized that Ron was heading straight for them with harmful intent for Seamus. He panicked and jumped away, waving at Seamus. "A thousand times good night!" With that he ran to Ron.

Seamus, grinning under the death glare Ron was directing towards him, whispered aloud, "A thousand times the worse, to want thy light. Love goes toward love, as schoolboys from their books, but love from love, toward school with heavy looks."

His words faded into silence. Harry turned back to him, looking sad at departing with his love.

The entire Great Hall was silent, all eyes glued to the three figures at the front of the room.

A pause.

And Seamus, Harry, and Ron joined hands and bowed to the entire student body.

Another pause.

And tumultuous applause suddenly sounded, as the students and teachers stood and cheered their appreciation of Seamus and Harry's acting skills. Seamus grinned devilishly and, seizing Harry from under Ron's nose, pulled the Gryffindor into a dip, which received roars of approval. Harry laughed and even went so far as give Seamus a chaste kiss. This was met with chaos.

The two narrowly escaped as Ron caused a diversion with dungbombs and Hermione shoved them towards the exit. Seamus scooped Harry up and ran, Hermione not far behind him. They dodged a crowd of Slytherin third years and dived through the doors, all three laughing. A few moments later Ron appeared and slammed the doors behind him, taking a deep breath to calm his laughter.

Seamus snickered and sat up, Harry in his lap. Harry was trying to calm himself, but obviously failing, as he was giggling like there was no tomorrow. Seamus helped him along by rubbing his back, his own giggles fading.

Harry sagged against him, eyes closed and a smile on his lips as he finally stopped laughing. "We haven't done that in so long, Seam..."

Seamus grinned widely. "Much wider reaction than last time."

Ron rolled his eyes and helped Hermione up. "You can say that again."

"Much wider rea -"

"Seamus!"

"Well, you said!"

"Oh, Seamus..." Harry moved off Seamus' lap and leaned against the wall, sighing softly.

They sat there for a while, listening as the crowd in the Great Hall settled down.

"Think we can go in now?"

"Are you insane?"

"Why, yes, actually I am -"

"That's what I thought. No, Seamus, we cannot go in."

"Damn."

Fortunately for Seamus' physical, mental, and psychological health, Draco was not at breakfast.

But that's not to say he didn't hear about the Romeo & Juliet Incident.

All Seamus should have been thankful for was that he didn't do ALL of the infamous balcony scene.

After classes (from which Seamus mysteriously disappeared, sometime between lunch and Care of Magical Creatures) Harry started for the Prefects' bathroom with intent on a long, relaxing bath. He only got as far as the second door past the statue of Boris the Bewildered before he was seized by a blonde and black hurricane that swept him up and zoomed down the hall to the Prefects bathroom, plowed through the almost terrified door, locked said door, and deposited the Gryffindor on the floor of the boys' Prefects' Bathroom.

Harry blinked away the dizziness that came with his abduction and craned his neck to look at his kidnapper. He blinked again before smiling.

"Oh, hi, Draco."

Draco had this fierce look in his stormy grey eyes, and it looked as if his left eye was twitching. Harry absently wondered how that was possible. "Potter. Are you going out with Finnigan?"

There was a long pause. Too long. Harry realized very belatedly that the pause was his fault. "Um."

"Yes."

"No?"

"Good."

"Malfoy..."

"Draco."

"Fine. Draco..."

"That's better. Someone told me that you acted out part of William Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet' in the Great Hall this morning."

"Um. I did."

"With Finnigan."

"Yes."

"..."

"Erm, Draco, why do you care?" Harry stood from the floor, absently rubbing his bum. "We were just playing."

"Which scene was it?"

"Um, I think it was act two, scene two."

Draco's eyes bulged mysteriously. "The balcony scene."

"Erm, yes, but we didn't do all of it."

"Which part did you do."

"From where Juliet asks Romeo to swear his love for her to when he's talking about boys and school books."

"I see."

"Right."

Silence.

"Do you like Seamus, Draco?"

"WHAT?!"

A few hours of arguing, a silent bath where Harry pondered the dance and Draco tried to control his libido - tried being the keyword, as he failed to keep his hand from reaching under Harry and squeezing at one point, at which Harry nearly squealed and rushed across the bath-pool in a sploosh of bubbles - and some plotting later, Harry and Draco stood in front of the door to the Astronomy Tower.

They were wearing handcuffs.

It was Blaise's idea and Ron's fault. Blaise decided he didn't want to live a lie and so actually dared the two, adding that they would have to wear handcuffs the entire night, dusk to dawn. Ron happened to amble in before Harry could say no and nearly cackled with glee at the idea. (Ron was not very fond of Justin Finch-Fletchley.) So without Ron by his side, and Blaise looking rather demonic in front of the fire, Harry couldn't help but say okay.

Funny, he didn't remember Draco complaining at any point...

Oh, well.

Glancing up at Draco one last time, Harry stepped forward and knocked.

A moment.

And suddenly the door flew open, a hand reached out and grabbed Draco, and Draco was yanked into the room with a cry of outrage.

Harry could only stare as Draco's cry was suddenly cut off by Justin's lips on Draco's. And the two were kissing.

Dimly Harry realized that he was supposed to be the one Justin was kissing, but at this point...

And why did Draco have to look like he was enjoying it?

Harry felt a pout coming on as hands started to roam. He cleared his throat. This caused Draco's eyes to snap open and focus on him for a long moment, before the blonde broke the kiss with a sharp cry and shoved Justin away. But, no. Draco was not distressed by what had happened.

He was pissed off.

And thus Harry was treated to the lovely view of Draco's back as Draco took aim of Justin with his wand and sent curse after curse at the frantically fleeing Hufflepuff, who very nearly looked like the yellow canary that had been stalking Harry most of the summer.

Finally, Harry, unable to take it all in at once, fell to the ground in helpless laughter.

Of course, at one point or another, chaos was forced to surrender to order in favor of fighting over Harry. After his fit had passed, Harry had calmed Draco enough to get the wand away - for a moment anyway, as Draco snatched it right back - and convince him not to kill Justin, who was hiding behind a sofa at the time. Then Harry had convinced Justin to come out (after making Draco swear on the grave of his beloved grandmother that he wouldn't kill Justin - today anyway).

Now all three were sitting against the wall, Harry in the middle. Over Harry's head two pairs of eyes, one dark, one light, had a fierce staring contest, while Harry gazed up at the stars in silence.

Finally Harry broke the silence. "So, Justin, what did you want to see me for?"

Staring contest was aborted as the question made itself clear. Slytherin and Hufflepuff stared down at Gryffindor in wonder - then wondering of how in the world someone could be so DENSE.

Justin cleared his throat and leaned back, casually reaching out and taking Harry's hand. "I called you here," making it clear that Draco wasn't welcome, "because I want to ask you out, Harry."

Silence.

"WHAT?!"

"..."

"You?! Date Potter? Ha! As if you could love him! All you want to do is fuck him to tomorrow -"

"Dra--er, Malfoy!"

"Well, it's true. I've seen the way he looks at you. He just wants to eat you up, like you were a candy of some sort -"

"Draco!!!" Harry didn't bother to correct himself this time.

"What?"

Harry sighed and turned to Justin, who was glaring daggers at Draco. "I'm sorry, I have no idea what Draco's talking ab --"

"He's right."

Harry barely caught himself before he freaked out at the words Justin muttered. Instead he scooted back a bit, into Draco. "Wha.. wha.. what??"

Justin sighed, looking away. "He's right. I do want you. I've wanted to be your first for a long time. I've wanted to make love to you, to hear you moan, to touch you, to protect you... for so long..."

Harry was shocked. Justin... wanted his body? "But..."

"I'm sorry, Harry. I'll understand if you don't feel the same way, and I'll accept it if you want to hate me forever, but please... consider me." The tall Hufflepuff looked back at Harry with dark, sad eyes.

Harry felt a panic attack coming. "You... you... you..."

Justin blinked, looking worried. "Harry? Are you all right?" He leaned forward just a bit, as if wanting to comfort Harry.

Harry immediately peddled back into Draco's lap. He lifted his free hand and pointed it wildly at Justin. "You... you PERVERT!"

Justin, Draco, and Harry himself were all shocked by that word. Justin was shell-shocked that anyone would call him a pervert, Draco was shocked that Harry knew the word 'pervert,' and Harry was shocked for both of the said reasons. And so he started babbling.

"Oh, Justin, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean that, I'm just, I mean, I thought that, I mean I suspected that you, and then that time at the meeting, and... you... want me...?"

Both of the taller boys stared.

Harry fidgeted, not realizing his location. "Sorry," he muttered, staring at the floor.

Justin sighed, pouting slightly. "It's all right, Harry. Don't worry about it."

Draco smirked from behind Harry's head, while Harry continued his deep perusal of the floor. Justin glared at Draco, who glared back.

The three sat there in an uncomfortable silence the next half hour or so.

Finally Harry drifted off to sleep. Nestled in Draco's lap, his right side against Draco's chest, his knees slightly bent, his other hand clasped with Draco's, Harry had no idea of the picture he and Draco made. Draco was leaning against the wall, Justin a few feet away from him, while the stars twinkled above him. It was a lovely night.

Unfortunately for Draco, apparently Justin had decided that clear nights were perfect for having heart-to-hearts.

"Malfoy."

"What?"

"Do you like Harry?"

"In what way?"

"Romantic."

"Is that any of your business?"

"No, it isn't, but it just seems..."

"That we're secretly a couple or something of that rot?"

"No, that... well, you two would be a very cute couple if you got together."

"I'm flattered."

"No, really, Malfoy. You would. It's like you two just... fit. Yin and yang."

"Yan and ying? What's that?"

"Yin and yang, Malfoy. It's a Chinese concept. You have two fish, one black, one white. One's the dark side of humanity, one's the light side. Yet the black fish has white eyes, and the white fish has black eyes. Meaning that darkness has a bit of light, and light has a bit of darkness. When the two fish intertwine, they create a perfect circle. Unity. They complete each other. They are not just parts, they are one." Justin lazily lifted his wand and muttered a spell, and a second later a yin-yang sign in black and white floated in the air before them.

"Oh, that. The all-in-one belief. So, Harry and I are fish?" Draco sent a smirk at Justin, who rolled his eyes.

"You know what I mean."

"I see. So you think that Harry and I complete each other?"

"Sure, why not? You are the black fish and he is the white. You are not completely dark in that you have compassion for others, and Harry is not completely light in the whole Dark Lord thing. He's attracted to the dark, you are attracted to the light. He is the light to keep you sane, and you are the dark that keeps him sane. It's just... you know. I can't really explain it."

"I think I understand, thanks."

"All right."

Silence reigned again. It was having a jolly time watching Discomfort and Bad Vibes duke it out on the floor before Justin interrupted its antics again.

"So do you like him? Or do you want to shag him like I do?"

"I will not dignify that with an answer."

The three eventually got out of there. Justin left around one so that the other Hufflepuffs wouldn't miss him, and Draco picked Harry up and started carrying him toward Gryffindor Tower. Harry stirred a few times against him, mumbling things like "Lemelone" and "Don't call me dummkopf," the meanings of which Draco wasn't sure. He didn't mind it, though, because he was holding Harry.

If only this wasn't Hogwarts, and they weren't students... If only he could marry Harry and live happily ever after...

And if only Draco could find the courage to admit to Harry that he loved him.